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Today: Go Public: A Day in the Life of an American School District

Thursday, October 12 - 7:00 p.m. Armory Center for the Arts

Published : Thursday, October 12, 2017 | 5:56 AM

Recognizing that these are perilous times for public education and the need to support local public school systems has never been more urgent, Conscientious Projector and local filmmakers Dawn and Jim O’Keeffe invite you for a reprise screening of Go Public: A Day in the Life of an American School District.

“We find it alarming and readily apparent that there is a concerted effort on the part of the Trump administration, spearheaded by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, to defund public education by expanding vouchers and privately managed charter schools, along with promoting policies that undermine our democratically controlled public schools. Our community and our country as a whole need to be awakened to the critical value of public education and what is at risk if we continue to foster these anti-public education policies,” the O’Keeffes said in a statement.

A few years ago, the O’Keeffes recruited 50 small film crews who followed Pasadena public school students, teachers, volunteers and administrators as they went about a typical day on the school district’s many campuses.

The result is a cinema verité-style film that, they say, not only contradicts the conventional meme that public education is irrevocably broken, but also shows the vitality, dedication and teamwork that exists among stakeholders amidst the challenges of providing a learning experience for students in an economically and racially diverse urban area like Pasadena.

The filmmakers and local officials and advocates join us for a community discussion following the film. Admission is free the facility is accessible to disabled persons. For more info, contact Marty Coleman at (818) 517-8878 or visit www.gopublicproject.org